Maui Medical Mystery...Mono?!?

Update Time!

So my doctor just called. We chatted, she told me my last blood draw showed improvements in my liver counts and other stuff. Good, good. Then she said, "Well, your Epstein-Barr came back positive...so...you have mono!" 

WHA?!? I already had mono two summers ago, and I know you can get it again, but COME ON! I didn't have any traditional symptoms but swollen lymph nodes the first time around, and this time, I yet again did not display any traditional symptoms...aka extreme fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, swollen spleen, and sore throat. Yeah, this explains my loss of appetite, chills, headache, bloating (aka stomach pain and sense of fullness, in my case), sweats, and even my rash that broke out all over my body (yes, I was one of the lucky 5% of folks who break out in rash), but yet again, I've not had extreme fatigue or any other of the tell tale symptoms! This is just too weird! I guess I'm just allergic to Dustin and his kisses. =P Regardless of the mono, we're pretty sure there was something else fishy going on in Maui to make me THAT sick! Heaven's to Betsy was I sick!

Anyway, this means the multitude of antibiotics I was on really didn't have a point. Mono has no cure besides playing the waiting game. I have to continue to lay low as to not wear myself out and go get more blood drawn in 2 weeks to see that my numbers are continuing to make their way back to normal. 


I had to chuckle at this gem found on the internet (honestly...the things you can find!)
Viewer Question: If you had mono once, can you get it again or does your body build up an immunity to it like with chicken pox?

Doctor's Response: The chances of getting mono a second time are somewhere between next-to-nothing and nothing. Dr. Hal B. Jenson, an expert on mono and its cause, the Epstein- Barr virus (EBV), has stated that: "Second attacks of infectious mononucleosis caused by EBV have not been documented."

Look at me go! I'm a revolutionary medical case! Put me down in the record books! This is exciting! *Please note the sarcasm. Clearly that Dr. Hal B. Jenson is no expert of the Epstein-Barr virus. Even I knew you could get mono more than once. It's just unusual!*

I'm just happy I'm feeling fine, but gosh darn. I'm one of those rare cases who winds up getting mono more than once. Let's just add this to the list of other freak medical issues I've dealt with at the ripe old age of 22. Good grief! 


For your viewing pleasure, here's a recap of my third ER visit at Littleton Adventist Hospital back in CO. This trip was momentous. After arriving wrapped in our CO Rockies fleece blanket, shivering in the 104 degree heat, I got a morphine drip AND oxygen! Those were novel items on my list of hospital gizmos and gadgets I'd encountered in the last week!

Oh, and since I'm sure you're all wanting to see this, here's what my rash looked like on about Day...3?

I'm happy to report that now you can't even tell I had a rash. And my itching has subsided! YES! =)